


day of devotion

by aeinlookalike



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-20
Updated: 2018-02-20
Packaged: 2019-03-21 22:30:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13750533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aeinlookalike/pseuds/aeinlookalike
Summary: a sweet morning





	day of devotion

**Author's Note:**

> me, complaining about the lack of ryomarx in ao3: yeah i do have a ton of written stuff for them but i just. never tag or post it  
> my gf: be the change you wish to see in this world  
> me: ok
> 
> (this is feh au as always btw)

“You have something in your hair.” Ryoma reaches up from where he’s laying down in Xander’s lap, staring above at the other man.

Xander doesn’t even look up past the book he’s reading on the bed, even as the hand pushes between him and the text. “Where?”

Ryoma’s hand lifts to pluck something off, his head still tilted up, looking up to the other’s face. “I got it.”

“What was it?” Ryoma’s hand is still in his hair though. Xander’s eyes wander up to look at it and then back down to the man still laying contentedly in his lap. Except he has a grin plastered on his face as he does so. “... Did you get it?”

“I did.” The smug smile is still there and Xander sets the book down to gently grasp the other’s hand to pull it down, but it doesn’t budge.

“If you got it, then shouldn’t you be putting this,” He flicks his eyes over to the hand that’s now running through Xander’s hair. “Down, perhaps?”

“Your hair feels nice.” The laughing response is the only thing to break through Xander’s exasperated sigh, but he smiles too, even if it’s small.

He lowers his own hand into the other’s mane and Ryoma laughs even more. “I suppose I can’t be against this.”

Ryoma’s face still looks up to stare into Xander’s own eyes, his joy evident in his smile and cheerful words. “I know how to make it better.”

“How would--” He’s cut off when Ryoma’s hand slides down from his hair to his tunic, lightly tugging him down until Xander in turn responds in surprise by bending his face down. He connects with Ryoma’s mouth in a kiss that doesn’t last long as Xander pulls away, laughing.

His glasses slide off and Ryoma grabs them before they can fall off, keeping his grin. “You did ask.” 

“I suppose I did.” Xander leaves the book to the side, bending his head down to touch his forehead to Ryoma’s. “I feel like your hair’s growing out more.”

“What if it is?” His eyes are soft as they meet Xander’s.

“Just commenting. I think your bangs are coming in.”

Ryoma laughs and Xander pulls away to sit up straight again, snatching the glasses out of the other’s grip, who stares after it forlornly. “Do you want to cut it?”

“No. Your hair’s nice as it is.” The crown prince shrugs, adjusting his glasses once more on his face and reaches for his book.

He’s stopped though when Ryoma grips his arm that’s about to lift the book into place and the high prince laughs. “Xander, you’re always complaining about how it gets in the way when we sleep.”

Xander responds with a roll of his eyes. “Doesn’t mean I can’t compliment it.”

“No, I suppose not.”

He stares at Ryoma for a second from over his book, pushing up his glasses. “You should tie it back more often.”

“Why? Does it look nicer if I do?” Ryoma’s grin is near infectious, but somehow Xander resists it, just sighing.

“It’d be much neater for one thing.”

“It doesn’t get in the way.” Ryoma shrugs.

“Fine. It does look nicer, alright?” Xander sets his book back down, eyeing him warily. “Is that what you want from me? More compliments?”

“One can never be opposed to hearing such things about himself.”

“Don’t get used to it.”

Ryoma laughs. “You wound me, Xander.” His tone was anything but hurt though.

The crown prince only opens his book back up, flipping through the pages to try to find his spot once more. “I’m sure as tragic as it is, your life will move on without some mere compliments about your appearance from me.” He doesn’t rise to the bait, ignoring Ryoma.

“Can I comment on yours then?”

“Like what?” Xander’s eyes doesn’t look up from the book.

“Maybe you should grow your hair out.”

“I refuse.”

Ryoma pokes Xander’s cheek at his response. “You didn’t even hear me out.”

“I refuse.” Xander repeats, pulling his book partially sideways so he can no longer see Ryoma.

The high prince sits up then, getting off Xander and pulling himself to his elbows to look at him directly, even if the book was still in the way. “I think it’d suit you.”

“I realize while this talk is essential to everyday life, I must apologize for interrupting it and I insist we move past such topics.”

Ryoma only ignores the other’s dry tone. “And talk about what instead?”

“How about we don’t and I get to finish this book you pulled me out of?”

“You’re no fun.”

“What do you want then, Ryoma?”

“You.” Xander can tell even not looking up that Ryoma probably has the most ridiculous grin on his face as he answers his question too directly. The high prince also takes that chance to grab Xander’s glasses before he can make a move or protest and slides them on his own face.

With a sigh, Xander sets his book back down. “Alright, enough is enough.”

“Isn’t today the Day of Devotion?” Ryoma says while twirling a strand of his hair absentmindedly.

“What about it?” Xander says while staring after Ryoma and his own glasses framed on the other’s face. At least he looked… decent in them. Better than Xander certainly did.

“Supposedly, if you send gifts to the person you love today, you’ll be with them forever.”

“Charming, I’m sure.” Xander lifts a disbelieving brow.

“And poems.”

He sighs. “Like what?”

“Roses are red, violets are blue… I hope this doesn’t make you wince, but you’ll always be my prince?” Ryoma flashes a cocky grin, glasses half sliding down.

Xander holds back a laugh, his shoulders lifting on his own as he tries, but a chuckle goes out anyway. “What even WAS that?”

“Did it work?”

“Are you asking me to judge your poem or the holiday’s inner workings to win affection?”

“Why not both?”

“Alright, first of all, the poem was awful.” The crown prince laughs openly.

Ryoma frowns. “Xander!”

“If you tell me you were thinking of that all night, I’m not sure how many points I’ll deduct from you.”

“How many points if I came up with that just now?”

A stern face meets Ryoma’s. “Zero.”

“Ouch.” Ryoma brings a hand to his chest in a playful motion, as if he had been shot, collapsing back on the covers, face first, which Xander ignores.

“Second, how do you even know about the holiday?”

“I heard it while passing by.” His voice is muffled and Xander clears his throat loudly, at which Ryoma lifts his face up and he muses with a smile, recalling his experience in the hall. “A boy with bright red hair in a strange outfit ran into me yesterday in a hurry. He excused himself, ran some ways, then backpedaled to ask me an odd question.”

“Oh?”

“He asked me if I would by chance, happen to know what a girl his age would like for a gift.”

“What did you say?”

Ryoma shrugs, sitting back up to cross his knees. “Flowers?”

“I suppose that’s a safe bet.”

“He thanked me, saying that was what he had been going with, along with chocolates for today, which is as he called it, the Day of Devotion.”

“Chocolates.” Xander thinks on that especially for a moment. “Well, this sounds similar to a tradition we do in Nohr.”

“You do?”

“Something like this. We send roses, cards, chocolates and the like to the person we adore on a certain day.”

“Did you ever receive any?”

Xander laughs. “Plenty, especially from my family. After all, this day isn’t just for lovers. Elise always had the most fun giving chocolates to everyone.”

“That sounds like fun.”

“It was.” Xander pauses as if to say something more, but then just shrugs. 

Ryoma looks at him in curiosity, slightly tilting his head. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, just lost in reminiscing memories.”

“The good or bad kind?” Gently, Ryoma brings a hand to cradle the other’s face, in which he gladly leans into.

Quietly, Xander confesses, “I don’t know. I’ve often dreamed of going back home, back to Nohr. Back to experiencing memories like that again, only…”

“Only?”

“I suppose I just thought of something wishful.”

“Which is what?”

Xander smiles into the hand almost wistfully, eyes half-closed. “You sound so nosy, Ryoma.”

“How can I not be?”

“The fact that I’d like to experience such memories back home with you.”

“Oh.” Ryoma pulls away softly, his touch still lingering on Xander’s cheek. 

“What? What were you expecting?” Taken back, he tilts his head in puzzlement. 

“I… I don’t know.” Ryoma crosses his arms, his face the image of thinking thoughts further away from here.

“Well,” Xander’s tone borders on amusement at the other’s silence. “Just a wishful thought as I’ve said.” Perhaps he was just taken back by Xander’s honesty. There were times Ryoma never expected such bluntness from him after all.

“Yes.”

Somehow, Ryoma feels far away. It’s absurd, the man was sitting right across from him and yet… something was terribly off. However, he knows the other won’t talk until he’s ready, so Xander tries for something light, to bring his lover back. “It’s rare of you to not get the last word in.”

Ryoma shakes his head slowly and looks up with a smile then, the same smile Xander knows and loves and isn’t so far away from. “I always do.”

“Unrealistic.” He smiles his own love back at him and then gestures at Ryoma’s face. “Now, are you going to hand over my glasses you’re holding hostage so I can read a bit longer before we must face the day?”

Ryoma pulls a frown. “Xanderrr,”

“Pouting is unbecoming of you, high prince. What do you want?”

“It’s already late morning anyway.” He points to the window.

“Blast.” Xander mutters.

“Nobody is going to miss us for a few more hours.”

“Are we assigned today?”

Ryoma chucks the glasses off his face and into Xander. “You are.”

“I see.” Xander says dryly, catching them before they fell. “At the very least, you don’t have to worry about being late or anything.”

“My dear prince, when am I ever late for anything?” Ryoma rumbles with amusement, to which Xander rolls his eyes.

“I can name a couple of occasions.”

“The ones where I’m the one that make us late technically?”

“That’s what I was specifically going off of.”

Ryoma only grins at Xander. “Doesn’t count then.”

“Will you get off me so I can get ready? Clearly I’m not going to be able to read more today.” Taking this as a cue, Ryoma gets up steadily only to flop back down across his lover’s legs instead. The blankets billowed to come right back down with a gust from the prince and Xander only makes a grunt at the impact, slightly wincing. “Ryoma!”

The only sound to follow is laughter.

 

***********************************

 

Later in the afternoon though, as Xander came back from his duties out in the field, he opens the door to his quarters with a tired sigh, only to stop when he notices something in the center. On the round table, a vase full of red roses sat, carefully arranged and in full bloom, vividly colored in scarlet. The man walks over to gently finger one of the flower’s petals and a soft smile forms on his face. 

Maybe he did have the last word after all.


End file.
